About the Foundation

The Story of

The Dana Chang Foundation

Dana was born on April 5th, 2007, and left us unexpectedly on April 11th, 2024, leaving behind her bright music career. She just made her solo debut at Jordan Hall on March 3rd, 2024, at New England Conservatory, after she won the 2023 Boston Civic Symphony competition. She also planned to attend a Fischoff Chamber competition on May 9th, 2024, with her school chamber group, Highland Horn Trio from Walnut Hill School for the Arts (WHS).

Dana’s autopsy revealed that she passed away due to undiagnosed congenital heart anomalies, a rare and extremely difficult condition to detect, which often requires life-saving surgery or a heart transplant. Despite this, Dana was an avid 5K runner who always dreamed of completing a full marathon. Her music career was just beginning to blossom, leaving a lasting and profound impact on the music community.

The Dana Chang Foundation was established with her parents, John Chang and June Song, along with Jennifer Elowich, the Director of Music Department at WHS, and HaeSun Paik, a faculty member at NEC and WHS, respectively, to celebrate Dana’s drive and determination until literally the last minute of her life. Dana taught by example that the sky’s the limit, it can be reached, and it’s never too early nor too late to start- and the story of her life is proof that if you learn her drive, you can thrive and achieve what others may never achieve in an average lifetime, in as little as sixteen years. So, regardless of whether you’re four or sixty- four- don’t delay, do it! Dana made every minute count, and so should you!

Hence, The Dana Chang Foundation began with the Dana Chang Friendship Award and Dana Chang Music Award at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in 2024 because no matter how busy she was, Dana shared her “secrets” to succeed in all she did with her peers, so they too could thrive. In 2025, The Dana Chang Foundation will also establish the Dana Chang Music Award at New England Conservatory Prep School. The foundation will cultivate creativity and support the growth of local artists and musicians by contributing to building an educational system for emerging talents and offering direct opportunities to help them realize their dreams through dedicated space. Additionally, it will continue to support local educational institutions deeply committed to youth education and hospital systems in need of funds for research and development.

Our Mission

The Dana Chang Foundation is committed to empowering young artists by providing them with the opportunities, support, and education they need to pursue their dreams. Additionally, we are dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of the early diagnosis of heart anomalies.

Our Board Members

John Chang

President
Founder of Dental Restorative Group
Lecturer at Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Joseph Song

Treasurer 
CEO of Song Law Firm

HaeSun Paik

Board of directors
Co-Chair of the Piano Department, New England Conservatory 

Jennifer Elowitch

Board of directors
The Director of Music, Walnut Hill School for the Arts 

June Song

Secretary
President of Jongno Art Hall in Seoul, Korea

Dear Beloved
Daughter Dana,

Dear Beloved Daughter Dana,

We are still finding it hard to accept that we won’t see you again. It’s tough to imagine a world without you. We really wish we could have one more chance to ask you questions and see your smiling face. June and I always knew you had such a remarkable talent for music and art, especially with the violin, even from when you first started playing at the age of four. You were even listening to the violin while you were still in the womb, as your sister Dayoon played. You started playing with chopsticks at three years old, in your own unique way.

We first met Bo Youp Hwang when you were only 4 years old, and he became your first violin teacher. He asked us not to allow you to compete until you could truly enjoy your music and create your own sounds. That was his condition for accepting you at such a young age. This decision gave you the opportunity to experience many different aspects of life, such as traveling, skating, and joining the cross-country running and track teams.

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I understand that these memories are very important to you. Here’s a beautiful snapshot of the diverse and meaningful experiences in your life. During your time at Winn Brook School, you expressed your experiences and friendships in such a remarkable way. It’s truly touching that you published your first book at the age of 8. I can see how much joy music and trying new things brought to your life. Your playful dream of wanting to be famous really shines through. Your book, inspired by the yellow house where you lived from birth until you left us, is a heartfelt reflection of your extraordinary ability to express your experiences and friendships.

We are so thrilled to have grown in the delightful community of Belmont Day, and you truly found joy in the system. When you joined Walnut Hill Art School for high school, the only complaint you had was the lack of a sports team, as it was an art-focused school. However, you quickly discovered that this wasn’t a problem at all. You soaked up a wealth of knowledge from your classmates majoring in visual arts, dance, theater, and drawing, which added richness and depth to your music.

Your love for the violin has really flourished in the last 6 months leading up to your passing, and it’s evident that you put your whole heart and soul into your music. Your first solo performance as a violinist in the Boston Civic Symphony competition took us all by wonderful surprise. Despite your small frame, your music was incredibly powerful and passionate, leaving a lasting impact on the orchestra and the audience.

We’ll always remember the incredible strength you showed, despite your undiagnosed heart condition. The unique perspective you gained from your experiences has given us a deeper appreciation for you. Even though we miss you every day, your memory continues to inspire us. We’re still adjusting to your absence, but your spirit guides us. We can’t wait to be reunited with you.

Dana, just wanted to remind you that Dayoon, June, and I love you forever and always! We really appreciated your 17 years with us, the time you gave us has created incredible memories.

With All My Heart,
Your appa, John Chang

Tributes

NEC Prep Tribute Concert to Dana
Walnut Hill Board of Trustees Tribute

To the students, faculty and staff of Walnut Hill,

I write, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, to express to all of you our sincere sadness, sympathy and shared feelings of loss over the sudden passing of Dana Chang, Class of 2025.

Dana was, I know by all accounts, a lovely, lively and beloved young woman. She was also one of Walnut Hill’s top violinists who performed with a proficiency, an artistry and confidence beyond her tender 17 years. Listening to and speaking with many of you at the memorial service, I and the other Trustees in attendance could see and feel the direct and significant impact she had on the community of Walnut Hill. The service was both emotional and heart-rending.

In grieving for Dana, all of you have shown the love you have for her and the extent to which she will be remembered and missed on a daily basis for a very long time.

Over the last difficult week, you have also shown a love and caring for each other, providing support when necessary and, I hope, seeking it when feeling overwhelmed.

Finally, you have shown brilliantly how, in a crisis, a community can come together for each other and face the sometimes devastating blows that life gives us. All of you have embodied over the last week the inspiring touchstone of our motto non nobis solum.

So, I write to you today to tell you how truly sorry I am for your loss, our loss, and for the senseless loss of a life and light from which the world benefited for much too short a time.

With warmth and sincerity,
Jenny Toolin McAuliffe P’15
Chair, Board of Trustees

Walnut Hill Korean Student Council Tribute

Celtics Tribute

Fischoff and NEC Tribute

Andrew Li Tribute

Good afternoon.

I stand here before you all as one of the many people who had the privilege of being a part of this beautiful life that we have gathered to commemorate today. I first got to know her when Ms. Elowitch brought us together as the Brahms horn trio. I remember our first performance at school when I played with her on a terrible upright piano; I remember how I spent my birthday performing alongside her at the Rockport performance center; I remember the day our Highland Horn Trio was accepted into one of the largest chamber music competitions in the world, where, on the 10th of May, we would have performed the Brahms one more time, at the culmination of our journey together. I remember the day the world saw, against the backdrop of the Boston Civic Symphony, a musician whose artistic canvas was as expansive as her spirit. She and I barely spoke when left alone, the both of us rather reserved, so Ms. Elowitch had expressed, incessantly, the biggest concern of our trio–that Daniel would do all the talking. She was right, of course, but this did not matter to me. Conversation did not come to me as necessary. Her presence alone was comfort enough to me, as I am sure it was to all who knew her. And when she did speak, it was always genuine, coloured with a rare quality of purity and consolation. I will never forget our first rehearsal when I made an idiotic joke at which she laughed for far too long. I will never forget her small mannerisms, the way she said “ok” quickly while tilting her head, how her laughter always stemmed from a stifled chuckle to a burst of unfeigned happiness. I can still hear the godawful sound of her tuning the violin so incredibly loudly, as she always did. I will never forget how I was late to the Fischoff recording, and she arrived at my house, completely out of breath, panting, worried, for whatever reason, that I had been hit by a car. In truth, I was late to a lot things, but that never did seem to bother her. In that way, she was superhuman in her optimism, or perhaps she merely found in herself the strength to tolerate it. do not know of believing in such a thing as fate, but I felt it a blessing at the very least— her sitting next to me, rehearsing the trio, performing the trio. But above all, it is the profound memory of her enduring enthusiasm that I will never forget. There was not a time she refused a favor; she played alongside me when I asked her to Ms. Cathy Chan’s Thanksgiving party; she played my composition even when she had a competition to prepare for (which she won, naturally). In her, I found, however reserved I may be, someone I trusted, someone I relied on. It is impossible for anyone close to her to speak her name and not recall the sheer joy she emanated, the healing her laughter enkindled. She was given but 17 years with us, yet she laughter enkindled. She was given but 17 years with us, yet she impassioned so many hearts, brightened so many lives, brought so much solace to the world–such is the selflessness, the nobility, of the artist’s journey. The time she spent with us, these fluorescent recollections we so fondly remember: they are unchanged, untouched, just as full of warmth as they once were, as they always will be. Nothing is different. She is to us as she always was. So may you all look up to the night skies and spot a gleaming star illuminating the surrounding darkness, and may you recognize her by the sound of her laughter, by the sound of her music, by her everlasting presence, and may you name her Dana.

Thank you,
Andrew Li
Walnut Hill Class of ‘25

Remembering Dana Chang ‘25

Subject: Remembering Dana Chang ‘25

Audience: Nutshell (students, faculty, staff, dorm parents, board, families) and Class of 2024 families

 

Dear Walnut Hill Community,

It’s been a wonderful start to the Fall Semester this school year. Such a strong start makes it feel like we have been holding classes for weeks when, in reality, it is only the second week of classes. It brings a smile to my face to breathe in the vitality of campus life while we navigate the next chapters of our pursuits. I remain thrilled to be a part of this community.

We went through some difficult times last year as a community. It goes without saying that the memory of our late friend and student, Dana Chang ’25, has remained as present as ever on campus. I have maintained contact with Dana’s parents, John Chang and June Song, and I can say, without a doubt, they are the strongest family I have ever known. Every day without their precious Dana is painful beyond compare, and yet they manage to look forward, turning the tragedy of her death into a celebration of life. Jenny Elowitch and Walnut Hill Trustee HaeSun Paik ’83 have been amazing supporters for them during this time, as well, and I thank them deeply for their generous time and open heart.

Dana’s legacy has already made an impact on current Walnut Hill students. Last spring, we named our Friendship Award (one of Walnut Hill’s highest student honors), after Dana, and we offered two NEC Prep merit scholarships to Daniel Ma ’25 and Andrew Li ’25 in Dana’s name at our annual Awards Ceremony, in cooperation with Dana’s family. I am overjoyed to know that this sort of support, in Dana’s name, will continue through the years and that she will forever be connected to Walnut Hill.

John and June have asked me to share a few details about Dana’s passing with our community. Up until recently, the medical cause of Dana’s death was unknown. However, now that the family has received the autopsy report, we now know that Dana died from a rare, anomalous defect in her coronary artery that was never diagnosed during her lifetime. No one could have known she had this condition, as most people with it require life-saving surgery as an infant in order to survive. It’s truly astonishing that Dana led the life she did for as long as she did—running every day and maintaining a high-energy practice and performance regimen with this life-threatening condition.

It is with this newfound sense of hope and purpose to honor Dana’s life that her family has now established the Dana Chang Foundation. By creating this new organization, John, June, and Dana’s sister, Dayoon, will support young artists through their educational careers, providing them with opportunities and resources that will go a long way in developing their potential. Additionally, the Foundation will raise awareness about the importance of the early diagnosis of heart anomalies. Again, my deepest thanks to Jenny Elowitch and HaeSun Paik for the countless hours they have spent with June and John this summer to realize their vision.

There will be a concert to kick off the launch of the Foundation at Jordan Hall in Boston on Monday, October 21 to which our entire community is invited. Student tickets are free, and we will have bus transportation for any students who would like to attend. Performers will include Dana’s friends and classmates at Walnut Hill and Dana’s aunt (and renowned Korean gayageum player) Youngsook Song, in addition to our Grammy Award-winning quartet-in-residence, the Parker Quartet. This will be a touching tribute to Dana and will launch the Foundation to be an enduring tribute to the phenomenal person she was.

Let’s keep Dana in our hearts as we head into this semester. It’s a new school year, a new season, and new possibilities await us with the memory of Dana serving as our guide.

Sincerely,
Eric Barber Head of School

The Dana Chang Foundation Inaugural Concert
Monday, October 21, 2024
7:30 PM
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA